92 



THE GARDENERS MAGAZINE. 



Fei RUARY 3, 1912. 



longiflornm or L. speciosum, which are the 

 two lilies most generally employed for this 

 pui'pose. 



When nearly all kinds of ])lants yield 

 as they now do to the skill of the hybridist 

 it is remarkable that there are still so few 

 lilies of hybrid origin. There was (for one 

 can unforninately only speak of it now in 

 the past tense) a very beautiful hybrid in 

 the production of which Lilium auratum 

 played its part. This hybrid (L. Park- 

 manni) was raised in America between L. 

 auratum and a deep-coloured form of L. 

 speciosum. It afterwards crossed the At- 

 lantic, passing into the hands of Mr. 

 Anthony Waterer, of Knap Hill. From 

 there it was flowered and exhibited, but, in- 

 heriting the capricious character of L. 

 auratum, it did not prove amenable to 

 cultivation, and in time disappeared. It 



LIBERTIA FORMOSA, 



It is a pity that such an elegant and 

 beautiful plant as the Chilian Libertia for- 

 mosa is not perfectly hardy all over the 

 I'uited Kingdom, as it possesses attractions 

 of a high order. Where the winters are 

 mild, or even where the protection of 

 bracken, or handlight, can be afforded in 

 cold, wet weather, it may be grown with 

 considerable success, but though it will 

 live and flower in loamy soil, it thrives 

 much better in a medium composed largely 

 of sandy peat or leaf-soil. A warm posi- 

 tion in the rock garden, or a sheltered 

 spot on the sunny side of a rhododendron 

 group, will suit it, but the planter must 

 not expect too much in a short time, as, 

 even when quite at home Libertia formosa 



ACOKANTHERA 



SPECTABILIS. 



This South African evergreen shrub is 

 very attractive just now in an intermediate 

 house, as , being a native of the warmer 

 parts of the southern portion of that Con- 

 tinent, it is more at home there than iu 

 the greenhouse proper, associated with 

 heaths, pelargoniums, and such other 

 of the many beautiful and interesting 

 plants that have been introduced from 



Cape Colony. 



Planted out in a suitable structure, and 

 stopped freel}^ when yoiuig, it forms a 

 somewhat upright, dense-growing bush^ 

 clothed with oval leaves^ four to five inches 

 long, and of a dark green leathery nature. 

 The flowers are borne in v^ery dense chis- 



4 



LIBERTIA FORMOSA AT KEW. 

 A springe-flowering Chilian plant, carrying elegant spikes oi pure white blooms 



niust be nearly twenty years ago since I 

 last saw it exhibited, and enquiries a year 



or two ago elicited the reply from 1\\y. 

 Waterer that, as far as he knew^ it was 

 no longer in cultivation. AV. T. 



Greenhouse Aca.cia.s. — AVhile 



many of the Australian acacias need to attain 

 tree-like dimensionvS before they flower, such 

 as the mimosa of the florists' shops (Acacia 

 -dealbata); yeft some of them "wlill bloom 

 freely in a quite small state. From this 

 circumstance they are very popular for green- 

 house decoration, those most generally em- 

 ployed for the purpose being Acacia Drum- 

 mondi, A. ovat'a, A. armata, A. ha.stuhita 

 (cordata), A. pulcliella, A. grandis, and A. 

 platyptera. All have flowers of some shade 

 of yellow, and with the exception of A. 

 platyptera, flower in the early monthn of the 



year. This last-named blooms in autumn. 

 K. 



is not by any nutans a fast-growing plant. 

 The illustration shows specimens flowering 

 at Kew, in May and June, at which time 

 the 2 feet to 2\ feet spikes of pure white 

 flowers are abiuidantly produced, and look 

 w^ell, rising from the tufts of erect, pointed, 

 sword-like, deep green leaves. 



Libertia formosa may be raised from 

 seeds sown in a frame, but seedlings come 

 into flower slowly. The usual method of 

 propagation is by division of the clumps in 

 early spring, when new growth commences. 

 A careful hand and a sharp knife are essen- 

 tial to the proper division of the tufts. 



Fi)r pretty jrardcns and lovoly flower.^ read Thk 

 Ki nWKi^ {;ki;i>kx. hy T. AV. Sanders. K.L.S. An up 

 t(. flatc work <in Tlir tur Mi:ition , I'laiitin.i^-. and nmnajr- 

 n,t nt rif th-' Lr:n- '' ti. with ih'scri.i)tif>n and ' ultiviiti^iri 

 f»t" flMvtTt^ :ir,'l j liirit^ adapted Uw niitil'im' ctdturr. 

 Prift', 7n. ^m1. I'ft l>y p(K-t. ill H<)X, troni W . II. 



and K. Co'linLiridL-^. / 11*^ and 149, Alder^frate Street, 



and white, but, being pre- 

 !'able numbers, they impart 



ters from the axils of the leaves, especially 

 towards the upper parts of the shoots 

 They are small 

 sent in consider 



a decidedly ornamental feature to ti^e 

 specimen. What is more, the blossoms pos- 

 sess a sweet honey-like fragrance, tliat ren- 

 ders their presence manifest throughout a 

 good-sized structure. 



If allowed to mount upwards this aco- 

 kanthera may be trained to the roof oi: ^ 

 warm house, or as a screen plant for tin' 

 end thereof . F urthermore, when struck 

 from cuttings taken from the upper part or 

 the specimen the young plants ^-.o ootoiucc 

 wull flower freely when quite small. Beside 

 tile name at the^head of this note, it is {dso 

 known as Toxicophkea spe<*tabilis. ^ 

 secfmd species, less attractive than l'^^' 

 first, is Acokanthera venenata, a'so lo-o^^" 

 as ToxicophlK?a Thunbergi. K.- 



r 



